


The Zombies Rule

by kitychka



Category: Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (Disney Movies)
Genre: Addison doesn’t put up with it, Castle life, Chad Singlton, Dystopian, F/M, Humans, King Zed, Kissing, Lady Eliza, Lord Bonzo, Lore - Freeform, Love Triangles, Maid Addison, More Tags as I update, Princess Zoey, Sex, The Acys, The Acys are ok, Werewolves, Zed can be a jerk, Zombies, fullmoon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-02-18 23:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22835065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitychka/pseuds/kitychka
Summary: Addison has lived her whole life under the Zombie Kings rule. She’s content to live out her days as a server and marry the boy next door. But her life turns upside down when she’s called to work for the royal family and more specifically when the King takes a liking to her.
Relationships: Addison/OG character, Addison/Zed Necrodopoulus, Bonzo/Bree (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new story. This idea started floating around in my head about half way through my other story Someday. This is totally different from my other one if you’ve read it. The characters act differently and it's set in a different universe. Different from the zombies one anyway. For those of you who did read Someday, I brought back Chad Singleton. He, however, is a totally different person in this fic. He is not the douche canoe he was in the other. He’s nice and you might even feel sorry for him if this goes the way I want it to. Anyway, please strap yourselves in bc this is going to be a ride.
> 
> Also shout out to my sis prnzssheylee! for all her help on this. Also she technically came up with Chad.

Addison walked the streets of her little town, taking narrow back alleys and side roads to avoid the main street. She had just gotten off of her shift for the night and was trying to avoid any unwanted attention from the sorts of people that roamed the roads at this hour. 

She worked at a little tavern serving food and drinks to the workers who came in for the evening. She didn’t enjoy it, but she could have a worse job. She could have to work in a brothel or she could have been sold as a slave to a rich zombie family.

She was lucky to have both of her parents. They struggled, like all of the human citizens of Seabrook, but they got by just fine. If she were unlucky she would have been sold at birth or orphaned and forced to work the streets. 

Home was where she was headed. Her tiny apartment that was situated at the top of a 6 floor walkup was her own little paradise. Her bedroom was the size of a closet and she could barely fit her tiny bed and shelves with a few little keepsakes on them in there. Most of the little things she and Chad had found while walking through the ruins of the old city. But it was hers and hers alone. 

She cut through another alley, unafraid as she made her way down the familiar path towards a lukewarm shower but hands reached out from a darkened alcove and pulled her in. She was wrapped in thick arms and her mouth was assaulted before she had time to react but she would know these arms and lips anywhere. 

“Chad!” She breathed into his mouth.

“How was your night hon?” He asked after he managed to pull himself off of her.

“Old man Tom poured his drink all over Stacy and she slammed a bottle onto his head but other than that you know.. a normal night.” 

He chuckled. “I would have loved to see that.”

“I'm sure you would have.” she giggled. His laughing died down as his look turned serious for a moment and she knew what was about to happen. 

“Marry me Addison.” He asked her for about the hundredth time. She responded with her usual answer. “Now isn't a good time.” She turned and made her way towards her house, knowing he would follow her. 

“It's never a good time for you and guess what, it never will be.” he said.

She scoffed and responded, “That's reassuring.”

“No, I just mean that, of all your excuses that's the lamest one. It's never going to be a good time. We’re always going to have this type of life. The zombies will always live in luxury while we struggle to feed off the bottom. I feel like you keep holding on to some dream of how it was before but it's never going to change. That life is a centuries old fairytale.” He was right, she thought. Maybe she did hang on to some sort of dream of how human life was before the zombies rose up and took over.

“I’ll think about it.” she answered.

“I’ve heard that one before.” he mumbled. Yes, she agreed in her head, he had. Realistically, she knew that she would spend her life with Chad. They were compatible and had already spent most of their lives with each other. Most of their firsts were shared together and they had a solid foundation. She supposed she loved him, or maybe it was comfortability but either way she had always thought of him in the back of her mind when she did think of marriage. Her one hang up was her parents. She contributed a third of the pay to the household and worried that they wouldn't be able to make it without her to help them. 

Her parents adored Chad. He was charming, handsome with blond hair and blue eyes and his best feature was that he was a family man. He worked several jobs to take care of his mom and brother and her mother especially thought that he would make a good husband for Addison. When they walked in the front door they were greeted with an onslaught of hugs. Her parents waited up everyday for her to return home for work, no matter how late or tired they were from their own day of hard labor. 

“Chad, nice to see you my boy.” Dale said coming to clap him on the back and bringing him in for a hug. 

“You too sir.” He said returning the gesture. Missy had heated them both a plate of food and served them at the tiny kitchen table. “So what's new?” She asked as if they had something different happen to them that day than any other day before. They all knew nothing had but Addison answered with a ‘nothing’ while Chad decided to throw out a big fat monkey wrench. “Oh you know, just asked Addy here to marry me...again.”

She hadn't told her parents about his proposals before. She didn’t feel the need to get their hopes up about anything that she felt wouldn't be happening anytime soon. “Oh my goodness, well Addison you said yes, didn't you?” Missy seemed to be more excited than Addison ever was over it. Her parents both zoomed over to huddle over the table and stare down at her and Chad, giddy with anticipation.

What could she say? Uh, no mom, cause then what would you and dad do without me? They were prideful people and would never let her know how things really were. “It's just…” she hesitated, “not the right time.” She felt like a broken record at this point. 

“Addison, it's never going to be the right time.” said Dale. He sounded very Chad like in that moment. Maybe they were right when they say men marry women like their mothers and women marry men like their fathers.

“So I’m told.” she sighed. Thankfully she didn't have to say anything more on the subject as her mother shouted an excited “Oh!” having just remembered something. “The new King is going to be riding through our little section of the district tomorrow.”

Addison rolled her eyes at the thought. “What does that have to do with us?” she asked. Trying to finish eating before her mother started to pick up the plates from under her.

“It was all over the news at work today. Everyone is going to go out to greet him in the street when he comes. I hear they’re even letting people off work for the event. With pay! Can you imagine an actual paid day off? When has that ever happened?” She answered with a never, but it went unheard as Missy, Dale and Chad chatted about it. So what if there was a new King? Nothing ever changed with the last one and why would it with his son. Her father thought this one was a little more reckless but maybe they needed someone who wasn’t dull. 

She excused herself to go and take a shower, hoping that all of the hot water for her building wasn't gone, but she was only dreaming. It was too late at night for that. She would be happy if it were any temperature other than ice cold. 

She lucked out and had about five minutes worth of warm water but that was all she needed to scrub her body clean. When she went into her bedroom she noticed her mother had laid out some clothes for her and her one and only nice dress was hanging from one of the shelves. It was very plain and simple being a cream color with a little bit of lace and beading on the cap sleeves. It wasn’t much but it didn’t have stains or holes in it. 

She dressed in her sleep clothes and thought her mother must have taken it out for tomorrow to go and greet the new King. Addison had been waiting to use this dress. She had worn it one other time and thought she would save it for her wedding day after that. Chad chose that time to walk in. 

“Wow,” he whistled, “That’s a beautiful dress. I bet it looks even better on you.” He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder, giving her a small kiss. 

“Yeah, I guess my mother wants me to wear it tomorrow. Only I was really hoping my husband would see me in it first.” She turned and threw him a little smirk before turning back fluff up the dress. The ends were pleated and would stop above her knees but she wanted to try and get some of the wrinkles out. 

“Is that a yes.” He drew out. 

She sighed. “It’s not a no.” He grinned hugely and picked her up, spinning her around in the little space of her bedroom.

“Let’s do it tomorrow. Wear the dress and we can go to the certificate office after the King passes through.” He said setting her down and kissing her. She sighed once more, unable to say no this time. She gave him a fine, and he once more broke out into a grin and kissed her roughly. 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box and handed it to Addison. Her heart sank at the thought that he had spent a lot of money on some kind of gift for her. She opened the box to find a small metal ring. It was thin and very plain, having no etchings in it, but it was perfect. Her eyes started to swell with tears. “Oh, Chad.”

“It’s not much but, I made it myself, down at the blacksmiths.” He beamed proudly. He took the ring out and slid it on her finger. A little big, but perfect nonetheless. “I had to bribe him by saying I would clean out his pig stys for a week but it was worth it. He let me use some scraps he had laying around so it didn’t really cost anything. I know you would appreciate that.” She did. 

He stayed the night, her parents had never cared and especially now that marriage talks were happening. There was barely any room for him in her single twin bed but they made it work somehow. She dreamt that she was a princess in a fairytale and Chad was a knight on a white stead. A giant green dragon and a large three headed dog had held her captive in a tall tower and Chad had to fight them to save her. 

—————

Zed was a smart zombie. If he weren't, then his father wouldn't have stepped down so soon and let him rule. But the one thing he couldn't understand is why they needed to caravan through the districts. His father said that the humans would go crazy for them and that he would see all their cheering faces and it would just make him feel like the king he was. Really it only made him feel like they all hated him. He could see the hunger in their eyes and on their gaunt faces. They were suffering. But he had to do what was right for his people, the zombies race. Before they rose to power the humans treated them worse than dirt. They came with pitchforks and fire and all they brought was death and destruction. 

He hated riding through and seeing the pained looks behind their fake smiles and knowing he couldn't do anything about it. He had only been king for a few weeks now and he was spending all of his time pouring over books in the library, trying to figure out the best way to take care of both groups of people he ruled. His sister Zoey came bounding into the library where he sat reading over yet another book on ruling and governing a nation. 

“She had to go Zed.” She said marching up to his desk.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew who she was talking about but still asked, “Who had to go Zo?”

“Macy, she had to go. I sent her to go work in the kitchens. She was late again this morning with getting my things ready and then she dropped my breakfast all over the place and did she say she was sorry, nope. She practically threw the food. I know she hates working for us and so I saved us both the time and let her go.” She stood with her hands on her hips. 

She was speaking of one of the ladies who worked directly for the royal family. Zoey had never liked her and didn't really like any of the ones before her either. “I think you're overreacting to the situation.” Zed shook his head at her and turned his attention back to his book.

“No, I'm not, she was terrible.” 

“And what was wrong with the one before her huh?” Zed asked, refereting to the older lady she had before any of the self proclaimed ‘Aceys’ showed up to work. 

“Well for one, she always smelled like soup, and two, she was too old for me to practice hair and makeup on.”

That’s all Zoey wanted to do these days. Practice her hair and makeup and fashion skills on unsuspecting victims. Macy had been no different from the others and didn't appreciate all the attention Zoey wanted.

Again Zed sighed, something he was doing more and more these days. “Fine, tomorrow we will look for a new royal worker for you but for right now, you will have to be happy with Lacy or someone.” He turned his attention for a third time back to his book and watched as she huffed and stomped her way out of the library. He had to remind himself that she was at that stage where when she wanted something, she wanted it right then and there.

He opened another book and skimmed past the pages. It was an old lore and history book and he didn’t think it had anything useful in it, but he had to check every book he could for anything that could help him to rule both groups. Humans and zombies as one. He couldn’t just break down walls and expect everyone to be happy and united. It would take something special to bring the people together. Zombies would never accept humans and humans would never accept living with zombies.

He flipped through the pages and came across one page in particular that had caught his eye in the past. A picture of a woman with white hair and a long flowing white dress. She stood under a full moon and the picture seemed to depict her as glowing. Her grandmother, the queen previous to his father's ruling had written a lot of passages in these old books and this seemed to be one of the ones. Her scrolly handwriting in the old zombie tongue lined the edges of the pages. 

The words ‘Alpha all in white.’ were written next to the picture of the girl and besides that was a picture of the flower that his grandmother had loved and planted all around the castle. She also had written the words ‘Key to unite.’ Could his grandmother have been onto something? She had died when he was very young and she had never mentioned anything about uniting the people to him, but then again, she wasn’t ruling when he was born, his father was and she had no place to say anything about the ruling of the people at that point.

He closed the book and left to go to his room. It was getting late and he needed to be up early to prepare for his ride through district nine. He would have to come back to the library another day and continue to look for his grandmother's writing of woman in white and keys. 

——————-

When Addison woke the next morning, Chad had gone. He left a note saying he would meet her on the corner of the street the certificate office was on at the time of the new Kings passing. He wrote that he couldn’t wait to meet his bride there. 

Addison was excited, but she was nervous. She was worried for her parents. She was worried for his mother and brother. Most of all, she was worried for her own children she would be having with him. She was lucky they hadn’t had any already as they hadn’t been very careful in that regard before. 

She hates the lives they lived and hated that her children would be brought up in a world like the one they lived it. She wished she were in that far away land of a fairytale dream. In a place she could raise children who wouldn't go hungry or not have quit enough. 

She dressed in her nice cream dress and went to eat breakfast with her parents. It seemed her mother had sprung for some fresh fruit. Not a mold spore in sight. “Wow mom, this is too much. We can’t afford this.” All the fruit looked clean and fresh with no spots on them, this must have cost a fortune.

“Oh tut tut,” her mom shrugged it off fiddling with Addison's white blond hair, “It’s not everyday your only baby gets married.” She hugged Addison close before shoving her into a chair and serving her the fruit. She guessed it was a special occasion, even though it didn’t feel like it. She spun the little ring around her finger, trying to tell herself this was a good idea.

The streets were packed with people dressed in their best clothes. She wondered why people were trying as hard as they were. Maybe if the King saw how impoverished he had let the human zones become, he would help out a little more and he wouldn't demand as much from them. The last King was ok. He wasn’t necessarily mean, but he also wasn’t the greatest ruler in the world. He was a zombie for crying out loud. 

Addison walked on the side of the streets closest to the buildings. Most people were in the middle of the street and she figured she would save herself from getting dirty. As she walked she tried to remember what she had learned of the zombies uprising in the first place. Something about a factory explosion and infections. Something about people dying and then coming back to life and that one part where the humans were unable to contain them, but that had been centuries ago. 

The story had gotten mixed up over the years and now no one really knew except for maybe the zombies themselves. They could afford education, the humans could not. Addison was lucky to know how to read. 

The crowds grew larger as she reached the towns center and the main road that ran through. The King was riding right through here any time now but she needed to find Chad first. She made her way to the certification building and squinted, trying to find him but curses, she was too small to see over the tops of people’s heads. 

Luckily he spotted her first and came over to her. “So do you want to marry me now, or marry me later.” He asked grinning. 

“Let’s see how busy they are first.” They practically had to yell at each other to be heard over the hoards of people. They walked up to the front doors and pulled but found them locked. 

“My mom said a lot of businesses were closed today. We should have known this would be one of them seeing as how it’s a government building.” He gave her a weak smile and nodded. 

“Well you already said yes, and there’s no going back, so tomorrow we come and try again.” She smiled and replied but her voice couldn’t be heard over the throngs of people shouting and cheering in the streets. The Kings parade was coming their way. 

She couldn’t see a thing from the back of the crowds so Chad used his strength and height to push them to the front. The Royal Family was riding in an open air carriage, so the whole town could see them. The old King, his father, was sitting to one side smiling and throwing small waves and his younger sister, the Princess, was practically hanging over the side of the carriage waving very enthusiastically to the crowds. She actually looked as if she were enjoying being there. The King, however, did not. He sat staring straight ahead, with only the occasional glance in the direction of the crowd. Was he that bored?

When they passed, something seemed to have intrigued Princess Zoey. She turned to get King Zeds attention and pointed to something in the crowd. Addison didn’t realize it was her that the Princess was pointing at until the King set his gaze on her. Something happened in that small moment. She made eye contact with him, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones and it was as if she were electrified to her spot. She couldn’t look away. 

He had this very intense stare about him that made her feel like she would melt the second she was to look away. The King tilted his head to the side as if she were something he had never seen before, and he was marvelling at it. They rolled on past and the King was forced to tear his eyes away, causing Addison to come out of the trance she seemed to be stuck in. 

What could it have been about her that he couldn’t look away from? She wasn’t all that pretty and besides, there were a ton of beautiful zombies in the castle for his disposal. They had all heard rumors of young Prince Zed and his scandalous ways. Did she have something on her face? She brought her hand to rub away any potential dirt but found it was clean. When she brought her hand down she accidentally tugged some of her hair loose from its ponytail. 

Ah, her hair. He had to have been staring at her hair. She was the only human she knew of with white blond hair. Most of the people in her town had become used to it and it was only the occasional out of towner who gawked at her anymore. 

The princess seemed to have taken a liking to it too. At age 14 she was probably really into makeup, hair and fashion. A luxury the humans will never have. 

Some of the people in the crowds were following the royal parade but most of the people had started to clear the area. Addison looked at the clock tower in the center of the town to see when her next shift would start. It wasn’t for a few hours but maybe she could go in and work early. Seeing as how a lot of people had gotten the day off, she thought a lot of them would be going to the tavern early, and they would need the extra help. She let Chad walk her back home to change into her work clothes and they parted with a kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

Her boss happily let her work extra hours as they did indeed have an influx of customers for the day. The day time server was starting to get overwhelmed. She manned the bar, mostly just refilling beer glasses but she preferred it that way. She was separated from the customers with a wooden barrier and that meant she wouldn’t have any unwanted fistfuls of her body parts touched that day. Something about being in a bar and drinking made all the men think that they didn’t have any boundaries and could do whatever they wanted.

The crowds came and went and then the regular customers started to pour in and with them came rain; an angry rain that raged and shook the tavern with thunderous booms. They would be in for the night and now it seemed so would she. The owner was nice enough to let his servers stay in the back if needed, and it seemed she and Stacy would be sharing the tiny mat and threadbare blanket later. She wanted to get a note home to her parents but she knew that there would be no mail carriers at this hour. She knew they would wait up and she did not want them there all night worrying over her.

There were a handful of men left in the bar, which was all that ever showed up on nights like this, and Addison tried to make them feel as homey as she could. No one would be leaving anytime soon. All of the men were older and unmarried or widowed. Their children had grown and they would be going home to no one. She felt sorry for these men.

She and Stacy dished out the last of the stew for the night and filled their beer mugs one last time before they had all settled in. The owner had a fire going and Addison was happy for the warmth. They sat around the fire and she listened as the old men argued about the same topics over and over again. Stacy had pulled the ratty old mat out from the back to sit closer to the fire and together they huddled on it wrapped it the blanket.

All the men took their turns discussing different topics and soon it turned into a sort of story time. They talked of old memories and lives and lost loves and Addison was raptured in the stories, almost like a fairytale in their own ways.

Hubert Jones was a man older than time. He had gray wiry hair and wrinkles so deep they made his eyes look permanently closed. Most people shied away from him, but he was harmless. He had remained silent listening, or maybe he wasn’t, but the talking had started to die down and when a violent thunderclap rattled the windows he decided it was his turn.

“You want an old tale. I’ve got one.” The patrons turned their attention to him, listening intently and giving him his time to talk. “There used to be a gardener once upon a time, who worked right inside the castle walls.” Everyone leaned in, eager to hear more of the castle. When humans were recruited to work inside the walls, most of them didn’t return. All anyone knew of what went on inside were rumors and the small snippets they heard on the news. “It was his job to oversee everything on the grounds and the Queen of the time, she loved her flowers. She said that they made the castle smell better and made her feel more alive than she really was.” 

He took pauses between his sentences like he was trying to remember. “She sent him out one day saying there was a flower that grew many miles away in a deep valley and she wanted one. She trusted him and no one else to retrieve it for her. So he set out with a bag and strict instructions to bring back the flower or never return. And he had to return, the money he received was too good. It was all that was feeding his family.”

He took another long pause and Addison wondered if he had fallen asleep as there was no way to tell without seeing his eyes. “Did he find it?” Stacy asked, just as raptured as everyone else. “Oh he found it alright.” He answered. “But that wasn’t all he found. The flower was stark white and smelled of warm sugar. The most beautiful plant he had ever seen. But to get to that valley, one must pass through a wooded forest with trees so tall they almost reached the sun and so wide you could live inside of the trunks.”

Addison had seen pictures of things like this in old books. The man continued on, “He was passing through with the flower safe in a secure pouch in his pack. It was turning late and he was going to need to set up camp for the night but as he stopped, he started to hear strange noises. Noises like those of a dog; panting and growling and howling. Oh the howling.” He wailed the last part. “The howling haunts that man to this very day.”

Someone else spoke up from across the room, “I know you’re not trying to get at that old legend of the wolf people.” Everyone shook their heads in agreement as if to say he was crazy for suggesting it.

“Wolf people are not what I would describe them as. They walked upright on two legs like people but that’s about their only people like trait. Brown fur and yellowed eyes and snarling snouts were all the man could see chasing him as he ran for his life. He was on the edge of the forest and could see the lights of the castle in the distance and knew if he just kept running he could make it before morning. But one of them,” he held up a finger that looked as if it had been cut shorter than the rest, “one of them caught him and took out his left eye. This one was different from the rest. It was the biggest and although it had brown fur, it had streaks of white. White the color of your hair there young lady.” He had nodded towards Addison who perked up a little at the call out.

“What happened next?” asked the same man that questioned the legend.

“Next? I'm not sure. Some say he died in the woods and others say he made it to the queen. They say he delivered the flower and a message.” Another pause for dramatic effect, “The alpha stands all in white. The key for us to unite. The rest of the story is lost to history. Lost with the gardener and the only person he told, the Queen.”

No one said anything for a solid minute. The only sounds were the crackling of the fire place and the rain as it slammed against the windows. Addison rolled over the words he had spoken. Key to unite? What could that mean? 

Another man suddenly burst out laughing with a few others following suit. “Oh that’s a load of horse shit but it was a damn good tall tale.” The man stood and drug his chair he had been sitting in to prop against the corner. “I’m going to get some shut eye. I suggest you all do the same.” He got himself comfortable and leaned back against the wall to sleep, pulling his hat down over his face. 

The other men followed suit, some sitting and some just lying on the floor. The old man who told the story didn’t move. Next to Addison, Stacy laid herself down and got comfortable to sleep. Addison wasn’t quite ready. She looked to the old man who still hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Do you believe your own story?” She asked curiously. He took a deep breath and leaned down to get a clearer vision of her.

“Of course. I was there.” After he spoke he raised his eyebrows to show his one good right eye and one glassy left with a tiny slash going down the center. He leaned back without a word and Addison decided it was time for her to sleep as well. 

She dreamt she was being chased by the three headed dog from the night before. She was aware that Chad was somewhere, but she could never find him. The giant green dragon swooped down from above and rescued her from the dog, taking her to his castle. 

————-

Addison woke when the first rays of sunlight shone through the window and danced across her face. She rose to find that everyone else was still there and sleeping except for the old man who had told the story about the wolf people. He was gone. She woke Stacy who agreed to stay and clean up, claiming to need the extra cash. Addison wanted to get home as quickly as she could.

Her parents must have worried all night. She wondered if they were able to get sleep, possibly realizing that it was too dangerous for her to try and walk home in a storm. She found they were indeed awake, but promised her they got enough rest. She went to get cleaned up and maybe go back to sleep, she didn’t have to go into work that day. She would be able to help catch up on some chores around the house and would probably go and help clean around Chad’s house as well. 

When she emerged fresh from a shower she walked into the tiny kitchen to find her parents sitting at the small table with a man, a zombie man. It was unusual for a zombie to come down into the human zone unless they had urgent business and Addison couldn’t think of any reason for one to have business with them. He was tall and wearing a suit with a bow tie. Addison suspected he could have been a janitor in another life. 

“Addison, honey, come and have a seat.” Her mother gestered her over and stood so Addison could sit in one of the three chairs. “This man has some news for you, for all of us I suppose.” She slowly, cautiously, approached and took a seat across from the man. Her mother turned to boil some tea on the stove. 

“Addison Davis, human, zone 9, aged 19, unmarried...” He was listing stats about her, but why? “..barmaid..” 

“Whoa whoa.” She cut him off, “I am not a barmaid.” 

“What would you call your occupation then?” He snapped a pen and poised it to cross out the word and update her file. 

“Um, well I do work in a bar I guess. But I’m not really a maid, more like a person who serves drinks and food and cleans up the place..”

“Sooooo like a maid then.” He said, staring her down. 

“Fine yes. Like a maid.” She sat back and crossed her arms huffing before asking. “Am I in trouble here? Did I do something wrong?” 

“Oh no ma’am. I just needed to make sure I had the right human before I brought you back with me.” 

“Uh, back where?”

“To the castle.”

“The castle?”

“Yes, the castle. You know that big building made of stone, looming in the background.” He pointed out the window. 

She glanced out the window next to their table which had a clear view of the top spikes of the castle and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know which one. Why would I go with you to the castle? Like I asked, am in trouble?”

“Addison please be more polite, this man is offering you a nice position.” Said Dale who was finally speaking up. 

“What position?” She asked. 

“You have been selected to come and live in the castle and serve the royal family. An honor most humans dream of.” 

Was it an honor….really? “Thank you for the consideration, but I’m fine here.” She answered and stood to leave but the man stood as well blocking her path with his tall frame. 

“Sorry but this isn’t an option. You’ve been selected and you will be returning to the castle with me, promptly.” 

“Why would they choose me? There’s nothing special about me.”

The man shrugged, “Look kid, I’m given a file and I go out to get the human. I don’t know why you were picked and frankly.. I don’t care.”

Addison turned to look at her parents to gage their reactions. Surely he wasn't serious. Her parents looked ... excited. If she went to the castle they would never see her again. She looked at her parents, one face to the other. “Mom, Dad, you’re really ok with this?” 

They turned to look at each other before turning back to her. “Honey this is a big deal. You must be hand selected to work in the castle and to work right with the royal family, that’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.” 

“But I’ll never get to see you again.” 

“Actually,” interrupts the man, “there are a few select days a year that immediate family members are allowed inside the castle grounds to visit.” 

It seemed it was inevitable. “What about Chad? We were going to be married! Today!” She panicked. She wasn’t necessarily upset over not getting married, but it did mean she would never see him again. He wasn't an immediate family member and he was sure to be heartbroken.

The man just shrugged, “I don’t have all day. You can come now or you can have the King’s guards escort you, either way you're going to be living at the castle.”

It seemed like she didn’t have a choice. If she refused to go that would only cause problems for her parents and that was the last thing she wanted. The man said she had five minutes to say her goodbyes and come down the waiting carriage ride to the castle. She grabbed the few dresses she owned scrawled out a quick note for Chad. She wouldn’t see him again. They didn’t have time to get married, so he couldn’t come, and he wasn’t family so he wouldn't be able to visit. 

In the note she said she was sorry for not saying yes sooner. Maybe all of this could have been avoided. She told him that even though she loved him and would always hold him in a special place in her heart, she wanted him to move on. She wanted him to find a nice girl to marry and have kids with and she had only one request; that he take care of her parents. That he checks in on them every now and then and make sure they aren’t doing without. Chad was an honorable man. He would do right by her parents but he would most likely think she was crazy for telling him to move on. 

She gave her parents a hug and told them she would try to write them if they allowed her to. One last look around her home and she left with one small tear trailing down her face. 

The carriage ride was uneventful. It wasn’t one of the fancy carriages that the royal family rode in and it didn’t even have windows. She had no way of knowing how close or far they were. Besides herself and the zombie man, one other person, a girl, was in the carriage with her. It must have been someone else that was selected and they were picking her up on the same day. 

The girl seemed to be very excited, bouncing her knees and looking around the inside of the cabin. She was dark skinned with long dark hair and had on the same type of clothing as Addison, a dress that had seen better days. Unlike Addison however, this girl seemed well fed. She was a little rounder in the face and the belly. 

The girl bit her lip as she continued bouncing in her seat and Addison could tell she was dying to talk. Maybe she was just shy and needed some encouragement and there was no reason for Addison to be rude. She might need friends to help her get through the rest of this life in the castle. 

“Hi there, I’m Addison.” She said reaching out to shake the girls hand. 

“Oh my goodness I’m Bree and I’m just so excited to be here.” She squealed. “Where are you going to be working? Maybe we’re going to the same part of the castle.”

“Oh, I’m not sure. With the royal family is what I’m told.” Addison really didn’t know what that meant and the man didn’t offer a better explanation. He seemed to be trying very hard not to even acknowledge the girls in the carriage with him. 

“Oh wow your so lucky. I’m in the kitchens working with the royal chefs. My parents own a meat pie shop in district 7 and I guess they heard we’re the best around. I bet it’s because when they were riding past they could smell our delicious meat pies for miles. I could see the looks on their faces. What does your family do, do you own a shop too?” That explained why she seemed well fed. Her parents made meat pies. 

“Um no, I worked in a tavern. I’m not really sure why I was picked.”

“I bet it's your hair. It’s so pretty and unique. I bet the King took one look at you and fell right in love.” She said with a dreamy look on her face. Addison snorted to hold on a laugh. Bree didn’t seem to notice and continued rambling on. Addison felt a little bad for eventually tuning her out but goodness could the girl talk. But her story explained why she seemed well fed. Her parents made meat pies. 

The man rattled his knuckles on the wall of the buggy and Addison felt like the carriage moved a little quicker. He must be getting annoyed with them. She could see a vein starting to bulge in his forehead. 

She chatted with Bree or rather she let Bree chatter at her for the rest of the way. She talked a little bit but not as much as Bree. She supposed they could be friends if their paths crossed. She wasn’t sure what her job duties would be but she was sure Bree would be in the kitchens and she most likely wouldn’t. 

They arrived at the castle and Addison was stunned by its size. It didn't look nearly that big from where she lived but they did have to pass through several districts to get there. Beautiful tall turrets rose from the corners and flags of black and green flew from them. The stone on the outside that made up the foundation and walls of the castle had vines with roses and other flowers growing across them and there were more windows than one could ever count. 

Addison didn’t have long to look around because the man who picked them up was directing people where to go and Addison was quickly whirled away from the carriage, the man and Bree. Bree was pulled in a different direction and had hollered “See you around!” as she was pulled off in a flurry.

Addison was being led by a couple of humans who seemed to be a few years older than she was. They went into a small wooden door tucked away into the side of the castle. They each had a hold of one of her arms and were pulling her down a stone corridor that had no windows or doors aside from the one on the end that led outside. The other end of the hall led into a giant room that had multiple hallways leading off of it in different directions. Humans of all ages and colors were hurriedly going from one way to another. Some walked with purpose while others were carefully carrying trays or pushing carts. 

The two people who were pulling her stopped abruptly and turned to face her. “Ok,” said the girl, “I’m Lacy,” she said putting her hand on her chest, “and this is Tracy.” She said gesturing to the guy next to her. “And this is about to be a lot of information at one time so pay attention.” She said firmly. Addison nodded in acknowledgement.

“This is Central. All these hallways lead somewhere in the castle.” She explained gesturing around with her hands. “There are little metal signs letting you know where they lead to. All of the castle servants use these corridors to get around the castle quickly. It’s like a road of sorts that can help you meet the demands of your job quickly and efficiently. Any questions?” 

She paused. Addison shook her head and was quickly pulled along down a different corridor. She couldn't read the words the metal sign had printed on it as they were a little faded, but thankfully next to that was a tiny symbol of a crown. She could look at the symbols and hopefully be able to figure out where they led. 

She was pulled down a corridor that seemed to go to the other side of the castle. They went through another door with a crown symbol and up a flight of stairs before coming out in a grand hallway. Addison noticed the door they had went through seemed to melt back into the wall like it hadn’t been there in the first place. Now how was she ever supposed to find it to get back into the tunnel like corridors?

The hallway was lined on one side with giant windows with cream curtains and a view of the gardens. They tugged her down to the end of the hallway and to a giant ornate wooden door with gold inlays. This was definitely a hallway the royal family would walk down and these were definitely doors they would go through.

“I'm sure you were told you are here to serve the royal family and you are. Every morning you will lay out princess Zoey’s clothes and help her dress then you will accompany her to the dining room. There along with Tracy and me, you will serve the royal family. It’s really easy, just do what we do and keep quiet and you should be fine.” She turned like she was about to push the doors open but paused and turned back to Addison. “One more thing, do not ever repeat anything anyone tells you behind these doors. The family likes their privacy.” She pushed the doors open and ushered Addison inside where she was to begin her new life in the castle.


	3. Chapter 3

Addison was exhausted the next morning when the little bell in her room rang out signaling the start of the day. She rose from her small but surprisingly comfortable bed and went to her wardrobe to dress. Apparently each area of the castle wore a different colored uniform and the royal workers wore pink. She had a closet full of plain pink dresses that had little pockets in the front and a little pink bow in the back and plain white shoes. She had to wear her hair in a neat attractive way which was nice for her as some of the areas had to wear hats or nets while others had to wear their hair up at all times. She was lucky enough that she was able to wear her hair down if she chose to as long as it didn’t look like a rats nest.

She shared a room with Lacy, who had the same bed, wardrobe and uniform as she did. Tracy shared a room with another worker named Jacey. Addison hoped that it was a coincidence that all of their names sounded alike because she was not about to change her name to match. The night before had been uneventful. She helped serve dinner but the only people to serve were Princess Zoey and the old King Zevon. The new king was off somewhere else and she didn’t dare ask about him.

Princes Zoey was very nice. She gushed over Addison's white hair and told her that she couldn’t wait to be her very best friend. Addison wasn’t sure what to say to that so she just smiled and nodded her head whenever Zoey talked. The only time she had actually said anything was when Zoey admitted that she had seen Addison's white hair in the crowd of people and instantly knew she wanted her to come and work in the castle. Her response was a simple, “Is that so?” but the princess just continued on talking.

She went to Princess Zoey's room and proceeded to lay out her dress for the day. The princess was already washing up in the bathroom and emerged very happy to see Addison. “My old attendant was not as nice as you.” She said casually. “She never smiled or cared about anything I have to say.” Addison decided if she was going to be here for a while, she would at least try and get along with everyone.

“That’s not very nice.” She said as she went about helping Zoey to get dressed. She thought it absurd that at fourteen she was still having help to get dressed but didn’t dare question it.

“No it’s not. But I can tell we are going to be friends. Did you have many friends at your old home?” Addison had to think about that one. She had her parents, and Chad and on occasion she would confide in Stacy when the nights at the tavern were slow.

“No I didn’t.” Was all she offered. She finished helping Zoey dress and accompanied her to the dining room. The King was once again missing from the table with the rest of the family, but two other family members were sitting at the table that weren't there the night before. Addison moved around the table with others helping to set out dishes and serve the food. “Who are they?” She whispered into Lacy’s ear. Lacy gave her a stern look as if to say, not now, and continued her task. When they finished they moved back to stand against the walls of the dining hall, waiting to be called to service.

“Those are King Zed’s cousins, Lord Bonzo and Lady Eliza.” Lacy whispered. Addison had never heard of them before but then again she never really paid attention to the royal lineage before. She never had a reason to but guessed she better learn who everyone was before someone got upset with her for not knowing. She planned to visit the library during her time off and hopefully borrow a book to memorize the royal family. Lacy had mentioned that she was allowed to roam anywhere she wanted during her free time, aside from the royal family's personal chambers of course, unless invited. Which she thought was weird. Why would any of them invite her into their personal rooms besides princess Zoey?

The family finished eating and Addison helped to clear the table. After morning breakfast she was to find something to do and look busy, or she was to service one of the family members if they asked her to. Zoey didn't ask, more like insisted. She pulled Addison into the sitting room and sat her on one of the sofas near the windows on the back wall. She wanted to play with Addison's hair. Addison thought it would be the other way around with the Princess wanting her hair played with and styled but the Princess was pretty clear, she wanted to play with Addison's unique hair.

Addison sat on the sofa with the Princess seated behind her. The Princess had her hands in Addison hair and was working it into some sort of braided mess which she was sure she would have to have help untangling later, but this was her job now. “So why didn't you have any friends back at your old home?” Princess Zoey asked.

Addison had to think of something appropriate to say back to her, she wasn't quite sure how their dynamics worked yet. “I just didn’t really have time to have them Princess Zoey.”

The Princess scoffed, “Ugh call me Zo. I hate when people call me Princess Zoey. It's so formal, yuck. “

“Ok, Zo... I never had any time to spend with anyone long enough for them to be my friends. There was always too much work to do.”

“Well I’m going to be your friend so don't worry about that. What kind of work did you do?”

“I…” once again she found herself sensoring herself, “I was still a server.”

“Do you miss your family?” Of course she missed them, she had never been away from them for more than a day or a night.

“More than anything.” She answered honestly. Zoey was quiet while she worked on Addison's hair and for a few moments, she was able to put all her concentration on them. She wondered what they were doing, she wondered what Chad was doing. She wondered how he reacted to the letter she had to leave him. Was he sad, did he cry? She bet he was understanding. She bet he went home and put himself into working on something so he didn't have to think about it. She spun the little metal ring around on her finger that he had given her days prior. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to wear it with her uniform, but she wouldn't take it off until she was told to.

“You didn't have any friends but did you have any one you liked?” Zoey was back to asking her questions.

“Sure, I like a lot of people but that didn't mean they were my friends, more like acquaintances.”

“No, I mean did you liiike like anyone. Like a boy.” Addison thought about it and decided, what harm could really come from talking to the Princess about it. She would most likely forget anyway as soon as she gossiped with the next person she met.

“There was a boy...Chad. We were actually going to get married.” She said his name and the word married quietly. The Princess perked up at her admission.

“Oh my goodness. Was he hot? What did he look like?” Addison didn't even get a chance to answer. King Zed decided that was his moment to finally enter and Addison was able to get an up close view of him. He was standing in the doorway and seemed to take up the entire space. She never realized how tall and imposing he was. The last King was rather short and little on the fat side but this King...this King screamed power with his body. Broad shoulders, long limbs and big hands and feet. Her mind went to places it shouldn't and she wondered if that old story about sizes was any true. She had only seen one in her entire life and that was Chad’s.

“Zo, don’t you have lessons you’re supposed to be at right now.” His voice boomed across the room. The Princess sighed and dragged herself off the sofa and out the door. King Zed moved enough for her to pass by but resumed standing in the doorway once more blocking Addison’s path when she went to follow. “And you must be Addison?” He reached his hand to take hers.

She had to admit she was a little intimidated by him. She wasn’t sure if she would shake it or maybe he wanted her to kiss his fingers. She hesitantly reached her hand for his but was surprised when he grabbed and kissed her hand instead.

“Charmed.” He flashed a dazzling smile. “It’s going to be a pleasure working with you.” He let go of her hand and went to walk away but stopped and turned back to her to speak once more, a smirk on his face. “Nice hair by the way. Gorgeous in fact.” He winked and left after that, walking down the hall in the directions she thought was his personal room. Was he talking about the color or…?

Addison left to go and find one of the Acys but caught sight of herself in the mirror hanging in the hall. Her hair was an absolute mess. There were a ton of braids going every which way and the remaining hair that wasn’t braided looked like it had been teased to poof up on the top of her head. She made up her mind, she wasn’t intimidated by him after all. He was too much of a jerk for that.

She had Tracy to help her with getting her hair back to normal. Who knew he was a hair wizard? He left some braids tying her hair together in the back though, just in case Zoey got her feelings hurt. “Why don’t you go and clean in the library?” He offered when she confided she wasn’t sure where to go next. “No one likes to go in there. The King has been holding himself up for months in there and I’m sure it’s in need of dusting.”

Addison agreed to do it. Only because there wasn’t really anything else to do and maybe she could look for that book of the lineage of the family. She grabbed the cleaning cloth and made her way down the hall towards the library. She had hoped the King wouldn’t be there. She wasn’t ready to see his stupid jerk face again. His stupid handsome jerk face.

The library was empty, thankfully. She set to work with wiping down the desks, being careful to not disturb what the King had set out on the tables; they were all books on the lore of the kingdom she noticed. She tried not to snoop, but she needed to check the books over to try to find the one she needed. She moved on to wiping down the shelves of the book cases and scanned the titles as she went.

“What are you looking for Addison?” A deep but smooth voice purred in her ear. She startled and turned to find King Zed behind her.

“Oh, I’m not looking, just..dusting.” She turned to continue her cleaning.

“No, I think you're looking for something.” He continued, following her around the library as she went. “I might be able to help, if you told me what it was.”

Addison sighed, “Fine, I was hoping to find a book on the family lineage. They don’t teach us that in the districts and I’d like to learn about who lives here before I embarrass myself.” She stopped dusting to turn and face him. He put his hand under his chin in a thoughtful look before he spoke. “Oh yeah, a family tree.”

He went to a shelf she had already passed but pointed to a shelf high above her head. “This book here is the one your looking for.”

“Oh good.” She sighed in relief. She wouldn’t have to keep snooping, now if only he would get it down for her. She was too short to reach it.

He acted like he was about to grab it for her, but grabbed the book next to it instead. “I’ve been looking everywhere for this.” He opened the book and pretended to read it. “Fascinating stuff.”

“Hey, can you grab the other one too...please?” She pleaded. He looked at her from over the top of the book that she just noticed he was holding upside down. He definitely was not reading it, he was toying with her.

“Maybe.” He snapped his book closed and bent to her eye level. “Beg for it.” He remained at her level, eyes boring into her own.

“Beg for it?”

“Yeah you know. Something like… ‘oh great and wonderful and sexy King Zed. Can you please get me this book?” He stared smugly at her.

She sighed and deadpanned. “Oh great and wonderful King Zed..”

“And sexy, you forgot sexy.”

She sighed again. “Sexy King Zed.. can you please get me the book I was looking for?” And then for more effect she added. “Pretty please.” She tried to smile but it didn’t come out as sincere. He stood for a moment, acting like he was thinking about it.

“Nope sorry. I just have way too much King stuff going on.” And then he walked away. Addison watched as he walked completely out of the library. She huffed in annoyance. She was right in her first assumption of him. He is an absolute jerk, but at least she knew which book she needed. She looked around for a stool or a chair and didn’t find one that she thought she could use. All the chairs in the library looked decorative, definitely not for climbing. She would have to climb the shelves.

She reached her hands up to steady herself and put a foot onto the first shelf. She tested her weight and when it didn’t seem like it was going to give she hauled herself up and went to the next shelf. She could do this. Two more shelves and she would be there. She stepped onto the next shelf and then the next but as soon as she let go of the shelf to get the book, her grip faltered and she fell off the shelf and onto her backside, thankful for the cushy rug that broke her fall. Someone snickering rang out from behind her and once again King Zed came walking up next to her.

“That was the best thing I’ve seen in awhile.” He said, still laughing. “I’m gonna have to follow you around more.” She glared at him from on the ground where she sat and when his laughing died down she decided it was time to leave.

“Well, I can see you’re NOT a great and wonderful King. You're a jerk, and I think I’ll take my leave now.” She went to get up but he stopped her by dropping the book into her lap. She gripped the book and stood to look at him in question.

“You forgot sexy...again. But I’ll let it slide this time.” He walked out with another damn smirk and wink on his face and never looked back. At least he’s not a useless jerk she thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Three whole weeks had passed before Addison had some free time off. She hadn’t seen the King since their encounter in the library and she was grateful for that. She didn’t know if she could take him being a jerk to her anymore. He seemed like he could be nice if he wanted to, but didn’t seem to want to be nice to her. 

She had the afternoon off and decided she would take the ‘Necrodopolous Ancestry’ book outside to the gardens to read and get some fresh air. She hadn’t been outside since she first entered the castle and she was itching to see the sun. She found a little patch of grass towards the back of the garden under an oak tree and opened the book, skipping past the pages of dead relatives until she got to the previous king. 

No need to learn the names of people who weren’t around anymore. She found King Zevon and Queen Azeal, who was no longer with them having died in childbirth with the princess. She found Zed and Zoey, but she needed to find the other members of the family, the old King’s sisters and their children. She flipped through the pages and found them easily enough and spent the next little while flipping through the pages of relatives. Most family members didn’t live in the castle itself but she was informed they visited quite often.

It was peaceful in the garden. There were a handful of workers but not many other people were coming or going. A couple of zombies walked past her and she tried her best to look down and avoid them. She wasn’t here to cause trouble. She sat the book beside her and laid down to stretch out under the tree. This was nice; she never got any days off from work when she was home. There was already something she had to do.

Once again thoughts of her mother and father and of Chad flitted through her mind. Her parents could come and visit in a few months and she was counting down the days. She thought of writing a letter for Chad to have them bring back but then thought against it. She wanted him to move on and he wouldn’t do that if she were still lingering around. A shadow came over her, blocking the red light of the sun from filtering through her eyelids and she opened them to see the King looming above her; that damn smirk on his face again.

“Ugh not you again.” she mumbled.

“I am highly offended. That’s no way to speak to your King is it?” He cocked his head to the side, still smirking at her. “You should be overjoyed to see me and bow with gratefulness.”

“It’s my day off.” She closed her eyes, hoping he would get the hint. She knew that she really shouldn’t be talking to a King like that, but really couldn’t find it in herself to care. She had hoped that he would go away but she felt the grass shift next to her and realized he had sat down beside her. “Don’t you have king stuff to do?” She said, throwing his own joke back at him.

“Nope, it’s my off day too. I have nothing to do but to sit here with you Addison.” She sighed and sat up, realizing he definitely wasn’t going anywhere.

“I was wondering…” he trailed off. “Of all the humans I’ve seen come through the castle, you’re the first I’ve seen with white hair. Is that a family trait?” Of course he would question her about it, everyone does. 

“I honestly don’t know.” she answered. “Both my parents have dark hair and as far as I know, I’m the first like this. What about you, have you always been this annoying to the workers here?” She turned to look at him. Was he sitting this closely a second ago? She certainly hadn’t scooted closer to him. 

“Nope! Seems like you’re the first again!” This time he gave her a lopsided grin instead of a smirk.

“And how in the world was this something you felt needed to be bestowed upon me?”

“I don’t know; you’re different. You didn’t try to kiss my ass the second you saw me and you don’t get mad with my sister, even though it looked like she had completely destroyed your hair. But she didn’t, it’s still as beautiful as ever.” He reached a hand out to push the hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger a moment too long. It seemed for a moment that he was getting even closer, and she wondered if he were about to kiss her.

“Join me for dinner tonight?” He murmured, hovering just above her lips. She could feel his breath against hers, and it was little too much. She turned her head to look down at her lap and fiddled with the hem of her dress, pulling at a frayed end. 

“I don’t think I can. I'm a worker here. There’s got to be protocols or something.”

“Um…hello..I’m the King you’re talking to. I make the protocols and if I say I want you to join me for dinner, then you join me for dinner.” She was hesitant to say anything. She would eat with him if he demanded it of her, but she hoped he didn’t. He was right after all, he was the king. “How about this, join me AND my family for dinner. Would you feel more comfortable eating with me if the others were there?”

No, she would never be comfortable around them but she thought again for a moment and relented. What did she have to lose? “Sure, if it’s with your family and we aren’t alone, I would love to dine with you.” 

He smiled and stood then offered her a hand to pull her up as well. “Great, it’s a date!” He kissed her hand and gave her another intense eye to eye stare. She noticed the flecks of gold in the brown irises she hadn’t seen before. 

“Woah woah woah, this isn’t a date. It’s just dinner.” She stepped back. She really didn’t like the way she felt being this close to him. 

“Yep, a dinner date and you have…” he paused to look at his watch. “Three hours to get ready. So you better go and tell my little sister right now so she can offer you something other than this horrible pink maids outfit.” He turned and left her standing in the garden.

“It’s not a date!” she hollered after him.

“Yes it is!” He turned his head back one time to throw a wink before he was gone.

Addison took Zeds advice and went to Zoey for a dress. Zoey was a little smaller but promised she had something that would work. She offered to also do her hair, but Addison insisted it was fine the way it was. When the Acys found out about the King inviting her to dine with the family instead of serving them, they questioned her hard. 

“There’s something different about you.. but what?” Tracy asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“Are here to spy on us?” 

“Are you a zombie in disguise?” 

“Is that a wig?” 

They each took turns going around and asking her questions and all she could do was shake her head in disbelief. “Guys..what?”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

“What? No!” She shrieked. “I don’t know why ok.” They eased off with their verbal questions but Addison could see they still had more in their eyes. 

When dinner time came and it was time for them to be seated, the King came to Zoey’s door to escort Addison. “M’lady!” He offered an elbow which she took. “I see you went all out for our date.” 

“This isn’t a date.” She said, shaking her head. 

“Ah but you forget, I’m the King and I make the rules. This is definitely a date.” Addison rolled her eyes and Zoey cackled behind them the entire way to the dining room. They were first to arrive but didn’t wait long until the rest of the King’s family arrived. She was sat between King Zed and Princess Zoey and across from the King's cousin, Lady Eliza. 

“What is this?” Eliza asked Zed as they were seated. “We’re dining with the help now?” Lord Bonzo’s head perked up to the conversation and Zoey giggled. 

“Eliza, this is our newest servant Addison, however tonight, she is my date. And I would appreciate it if you treated her as such.” He said sternly to his cousin. Addison pipped in with a quiet, “Not a date.” Eliza's eyes were on her in a second. 

“Addison? Not Casey..or Dacey. Something with an Acey.” 

“Um…no. Addison is my name.”  
  


Dinner was served and Addison was actually a little happy to be on the receiving end. To see how the higher ups lived and ate. As a servant of the royal family, she was kept well fed, comfortable and happy. Happy servants would happily serve. That was what Zoey had told her. A metal dish was set in front of her and the lid was lifted off to reveal a much more decadent and fancy version of what she thought was a meat pie. She wondered if Bree, the girl she had met on the first day, made this. She would have to plan to visit her on her next day off. 

She watched the royal family carefully as they dug in. They didn’t really eat like what she thought a royal family would. They are more like the people back at home. They ate happily and a little sloppily, not caring to use manners. Addison ate with them nervously. She knew they were all thinking about her and what in the world she was doing seated with them. Eliza especially, who voiced her questions. 

“Where did you come from?” 

“District 9.” 

“What did you do before?” 

“I was a server at a tavern.” 

“What’s up with your hair?”

“I don’t really know.”   
  


  
“What’s so special about you that Zed brought you here. He’s never brought anyone to eat with us.”

She was saved by the old king Zevon at this point. “Eliza… that’s enough!” He commanded. She snapped her mouth shut but narrowed her eyes at Addison, clearly not trusting her. “Zed invited her as his guest and you should treat her as such.”

“Yeah Eliza. You’re upsetting my date.” Zed said putting his arm across the back of her chair. 

“Not a date.” She turned to glare at him. 

“I’m sorry, what was that? I’m hard of hearing.” He smiled down at her. She was not going to win this one. “How do you like the food tonight Bonzo?” Zed asked his other cousin. 

He nodded his head with a mouthful and mumbled, “It’s delicious.” And continued shoveling the food into his mouth, clearly enjoying it. 

Zed leaned down to whisper in Addison's ear. “I think he has a crussssh,” He said breathily into her ear. “on the help.” She shivered at the contact. “He keeps following a certain worker around in secret. Ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?” He practically purred. 

Zed sat back into his chair, but took his arm from behind her to put his hand on Addison's knee under the table. She sat rigid with the contact. Does King Zed mean he has a crush on her? She wasn’t stupid, she understood his meaning.

“Tell us more about yourself dear.” Asked Zevon. “How are things in the districts?” Addison had to think hard about how to answer. On one hand she could answer honestly and maybe they would help. Maybe they didn’t really know how bad it was. But, if she told the truth, it might upset them and then things could get worse for her people. 

“Things are going just the same as always.” There, she said it. They could interpret it however they wanted. 

“How about your family? Are they well? They must be happy with the pay you get to send home.” 

“Yes sir, they are happy that I’m here.” And she was being honest. They were happy for her as stated in a previous letter, and they were doing just fine with her first paycheck she sent home to them. 

“You must miss them. What kind of friends did you associate with?” 

“Addison didn’t have any friends back at her old home,” Zoey said, trying to save her from talking. Addison took a sip of her drink and shrank back into her chair. “but she had a boyfriend and they were going to get married..” 

Addison choked on her drink, snorting the red wine all over herself. “Ah, I’m so sorry! Excuse me!” She apologized and set the glass down on the table. She had to leave, she shouldn’t be here. She excused herself and stood from her chair but knocked her glass over and right into Zed’s lap. The table was silent but all she could do was panic. She grabbed her napkin and attempted to dab at his pants, her own dress forgotten. 

She was focused on trying to soak up as much of the wine from his pants as he could that she didn’t stop until he gripped her wrist, stopping her. She looked up to his face to see his eyes starting to darken. She gasped. What was happening to him? Had she done something wrong? He stood, still gripping her wrist and pulled her out of the dining room behind him. 

She was shoved into a darkened bathroom with Zed coming in behind her. “I’m so sorry King Zed I didn’t..” He cut her off with a searing kiss. His lips mashed to hers and his tongue immediately came out to ask for entrance. She gasped and his tongue met hers. Should she be doing this? This was insanely quick. He pulled her closer and she could feel a sizable bulge pressing into her front. 

Now she knew why he pulled her away so quickly. His hands went to her hips and slowly backed her up to the counter. Was this wrong? It sure didn’t feel wrong. It felt right. She slid her hands up his chest and fisted his shirt so that she could stand on her toes to get better access. She heard him groan into her mouth and she felt a wave of desire pool in her lower belly. 

Zed pulled away to kiss down her neck and she felt him nibble near her collarbone. She let her head roll to the side as he continued his ministrations. In the haze of her desire she knew they had to stop, everyone was still at the dinner table. If they took too long they would make assumptions that were clearly right, but still.

“Zed, uh, King Zed we have to stop, we need to get back to the dinner table. Your family will talk.” Addison lightly pushed at his chest. Reluctantly he pulled his mouth away but didn’t let go of her. 

“Meet me in my chambers tonight?” He stared into her eyes, begging with his own. 

“I don’t know.” She bit her lip, nibbling it with worry. On one hand, he seemed to know what he was doing and he could definitely make her feel good, but on the other, this was bound to turn into some scandal and she really didn’t want to be a part of it. 

“Come after everyone is asleep if you are worried about what others will think, not that it really matters.” Zed spoke with such confidence. She hesitated once more before deciding, what does it matter? She wouldn’t be getting married now. Her life was in the castle now. Zed was incredibly sexy, maybe she should go with it.

“Ok. I’ll come.” His face lit up at her words. He kissed her once more and then left the room with promises of what was to come. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ughhh. Who else is just over this virus? I am for damn sure!

Zed silently paced his room as he waited for Addison. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since she arrived at the castle. Zoey had spotted her in a crowd down in the districts and in typical Zo fashion, demanded that she be her next attendant, simply for her beauty. Zed had followed her around the castle ever since she arrived and had stepped out of the carriage with Mr. Zeck.

At first he was only curious about her hair. He spent the first week in the library pouring over books and reading every passage he could about a woman with white hair but after kissing her hand in Zoeys room and then teasing her in the library, he started to feel something a little more for her. She stood up to him and even called him a jerk, something no one but his annoying cousins would dare to do.

When he stumbled across her lying in the grass in the garden, his undead heart fluttered at sight of her and he knew he had to get to know her. He never imagined things would escalate this quickly. Asking her to dinner wasn’t his intention, the words left his mouth before he knew what was happening, but he was so glad that he did and was even happier that she agreed. Then when she spilled her wine in his lap went in with the napkin, he was pulling her away before his thoughts could keep up with his steps. 

His family was sure to talk about him but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. It was true he had never invited anyone to dinner, zombie or human. 

He had never been this nervous before. He was the King for crying out loud; he could have anyone he wanted but no, he had to have her. He was pacing his room wondering if it was sufficient for her. Would she be more comfortable if he had some candles lit? The moonlight was streaming in and giving the room a sultry sort of light he thought would be better for the mood. Would she want to have sex with him? God he hoped she would. He could make her, but he wasn’t that type of king.

His thoughts shattered when he heard the light tapping on his door. He took large steps and opened it to see her glancing in both directions of the hallway, looking for late night wanderers. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his room then pushed her against the closed door with a single heated kiss.

“You have no idea how much I want you.” There he went again, spewing words out of his mouth before he could stop himself. “Does that scare you?”

She was silent for a moment before she nodded her head, “It does, but only because I'm unsure of your intentions. Do you do this with all your servants?”

“Nope, seems you’re the first once more.” He tried to throw her another smile like in the gardens but he was sure it came off as creepy. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I just needed to see you again.” he admitted. He didn’t bring her to his bed, bringing her to sit on a sofa near his windows instead. The sky was overcast but the full moon had lit the sky and was letting in an eerie sort of light that made her look even more beautiful.

“What makes me so different? You must have all sorts of girls throwing themselves at you, and don’t say my hair. That’s not a good enough reason.”

“Honestly, at first it was your hair.” She made a very unamused face at him. “But then it was your attitude. You called me a jerk and I thought, here is someone who can challenge me. Then I saw you lying in the gardens and you looked stunning and for once in my entire life I felt something. It was like something inside me came to life.”

“Wow, I really don’t know what to say.” She said, “I can also admit that you make me feel a certain way as well.” If he had a heart it would definitely be beating out of his chest at her confession. “I'm sure you heard Princess Zoey say earlier that I was engaged to be married. Chad was his name and we had been together plenty of times but... he never made me feel like you did when you kissed me.” She had an almost sad look on her face and he wanted to kiss her right then to make her feel better. He would kiss all the memories of her ex-lover away. But he wouldn’t, unless she wanted him to. God he hoped she wanted him to. 

“Do you…miss him?” He asked. 

“Yes…and no..” his stomach was flipping around inside him from hearing her answers. “Our marriage was more a convenience thing for me. Someone I had known since childhood and I was comfortable around him. I miss my parents though, more than anything.” The sad look on her face never ceased. He had to change it. 

“Visiting day for family members is coming up. Maybe I could set something special up for them.” He offered. 

Her face got a little brighter. “Really? You could do that?” 

“I mean, I am the King around here.” He smirked and gave a little shrug. 

She gave a soft laugh and said, “I would love that your highness.” Her blue eyes looked to his brown ones, shining in the overcasted moonlight of the window. 

He brought his hand to cup the side of her face, “Just call me Zed, please.”

“Ok...Zed.” He couldn’t help himself. He leaned forward and softly kissed her lips. He expected her to pull away, but when he felt her lean in, he took it as his sign to further things. 

He slid his hand to the back of her head and slipped his tongue to slide across her bottom lip. She opened and he slid his tongue in to dance with hers. Something definitely thumped in his chest. He could feel her place her hands on his shoulders and he moved his to her hips. Time felt like it was at standstill. She inched closer to him, or maybe he was pulling her, until she moved to straddle his lap, their lips and tongues never parting. 

The hem over her night gown had rode up over her thighs and he smoothed his hands along them to her backside where he squeezed and pulled her even further into him. Her heated core came to sit right above his hard member and he felt it would be so easy to just slip into her now. He could pull his pants down and let himself free and he could pull her panties to the side and that would be all it took. 

She continued to grind against him until he could take no more. He pulled his mouth free of hers and instead moved it to her neck to suckle at the flesh. She didn't deserve to be quickly done on some sofa, she deserved to be ravished. 

He stood with her still wrapped around him and carried her to his massive bed. He removed her nightgown and laid her down to stare at her in the glow from the windows. 

She was the most beautiful creature he had ever set his eyes on. She scooted to lie out in the middle of his bed, her white hair fanning around her head like a halo and her most intimate places showing in the moonlight.

Zed crawled until he was hovering over her, and leaned down to pick up where they left off. His mouth met hers and their tongues danced that familiar battle. Quickly they found their rhythm with her throwing a leg around him and him grinding against her. He sat up to remove his shirt and then fumbled with getting his pants off, his fingers shaking with anticipation.

————-

“Are you sure this is ok?” He asked her. She nodded her head and watched as he slid his pants and boxers off in one swift motion. She shuddered and let out a slight moan at the sight of his naked form. A broad torso led to a muscled stomach and a little lower his hardened member stood at attention. 

He resumed kissing her, latching himself to her neck. His hand made its way down her front to pinch one pink nipple and his mouth trailed down after. He took the other nipple in his mouth and she let out a moan of desire. 

She tangled her hands in his hair and gave it a light tug, which elicited a growl from Zed. He picked his head up enough for her to see his eyes darken before he went back to kissing down her body. He reached the edge of her panties and didn’t even hesitate to remove them. 

She was a little self conscious now as she and Chad had never done anything like this before, but Zed pushed her legs right open and went in with his mouth. He sucked on her sensitive nub and used his tongue to push into her entrance. 

“God you taste delicious.” He growled against her. A slight chill ran through her as childhood stories of zombies eating humans ran across her mind. 

But when he replaced his mouth with his fingers, all those silly thoughts were replaced with feelings of pleasure. She moaned and pressure started to build deep within her belly. She knew that she would be coming soon. 

He left his fingers deep within her, curling to reach her most pleasurable of places and rose to kiss her mouth once more. “Come for me Addison.” When he commanded those words, stars broke across her vision and a flood of wetness circled his fingers as he slowed his ministrations. 

“You are so beautiful.” He said staring into her eyes. The veins around his eyes had started to subside but his hardened cock hadn’t. It twitched against her thigh reminding her of what was to come next. She imagined if he could give her that much pleasure from his mouth and fingers then the pleasure she would get from him inside of her would be immeasurable. 

As soon as Addison had her wits about her she pushed Zed slightly and crawled on top of him. She straddled his waist and lent down to kiss him, deciding she would take charge this time. His hands gripped her hips and she readied him at her entrance. “Are _you_ sure this is ok?” She asked him. 

“Fuck yes.” Was all he could choke out before she fully sheathed herself on him. He was much bigger than Chad was and hit places she had never felt before. She gave herself a pat on the back as she thought she had practically made a King speechless. 

She started a slow rhythm of rocking back and forth, grinding herself against him. His hands were on her hips and guiding her into a motion that felt good for both of them. She placed her hands on his chest and used them to move faster, she could tell he wasn’t going to hold on for much longer and reveled in the fact that she was reducing him to pieces. Toying with him she leaned down and took one of his nipples in her mouth, biting it lightly. He groaned and his grip tightened on her hips and before she knew it he had flipped them so that he was one top now. “You’re going to pay for that.” He growled and hitched one of her legs far up on his shoulder, removing himself only for a moment before he slammed back into her.

He was hitting even deeper now and she wasn’t sure how long she could take this intense new pleasure. In the back of her mind she wondered how many people he had taken this way. It didn’t really matter though, she thought, it wasn’t like this would be a forever thing. Zed leaned down to suckle on her neck and she knew there would be a mark. Now she would need to find a way to cover it the next day. His pace quickened and she could feel her inner walls starting to clench. Her second orgasm came harder than the first and didn’t even realize he had finished until he was falling over next to her, her legs still wrapped around him.

“Wow.” Was all Zed could manage to say with his labored breathing. “I’ve never felt anything like that before?” He rolled them onto their sides and hugged her close. His lips ran feather light kisses across her shoulders and his arms danced across her back, sending goose bumps down her spine.

“You’ve never done that before?” She asked him with a giggle as she snuggled her face into his chest. Now that they were coming down from their high she could appreciate the bed a little more. It was the most comfortable thing she had ever laid her head on.

“Of course I’ve had sex before,” he scoffed, “I just mean that there’s something different about you. I swear I could feel my heart beating the entire time and that’s a thing I’ve never felt before.” Addison wasn’t really familiar with zombie anatomy, so she couldn’t really understand the feeling.

“What is this for you?” She asked as she looked up to read his expression. “This can’t possibly last forever.” She knew her place and he knew his.

“Well obviously this has to happen again.” When she didn’t reply he continued. “Let’s just see what happens, no pressure.”

She thought for a moment. Now that she lived and worked in the castle, it would be her life. Most people who went unmarried to work in the castle, stayed unmarried. She had heard of a few of the workers marrying each other, but never a royal worker. She would be single for life and decided that if Zed wanted this, she might as well take advantage of it.

“Ok.” Was she said and Zed smiled a toothy grin. He practically launched himself at her and assaulted her lips with his own. She smiled against him at his enthusiasm.

Ok, easy there tiger. “How about we go and get cleaned up and get some rest? I still have to wake up early tomorrow to prepare your family's breakfast.” He groaned against her chest where his head lay and agreed they did need sleep. He had king things to do after all.

Each member of the royal family had their own bathing chambers and Zeds was the largest. She stood under the spray of the water and reveled in the warmth, thinking she would never get used to the hot water they had on tap. After bathing with only minimal touching of intimate places, they went to sleep in Zed’s bed. He insisted that if they were going to do this, then she was to sleep in his bed. She could of course sneak out in the morning and use the tunnels to go back to her own room, and if caught, she could play it off that he rang for her help.

Zed had Addison snuggled close, and had drifted right off to sleep. Addison on the other hand had her mind spinning with thoughts. She felt a little like she was cheating on Chad. He was all she had ever known and sure, she had admitted that she didn’t love him as much as he loved her, but he was still a lover to her. She hadn’t completely gotten over the fact that she would never see him again.

She could make out the clock on his wall and realized she had just been lying awake in his bed and it was nearly three o’clock in the morning. Zed had loosened his grip and Addison took a moment for herself to slip from his bed to use the restroom. When she returned she noticed that he had a rather large balcony jutting off of his room and the sky had cleared. Quietly she crept and opened one of the large doors to step out into the moonlight. The sky had cleared and the full moon was shining down in all its glory. She could see the entire castle grounds from here and some of the city outside of the castle walls.

To the left was the forbidden forest, but she would never be able to see anything in it from the trees being clustered together so tightly. She knew she could see the castle spires from her home in district nine, but was disappointed at the thought of never being able to see the house from here. It was much too small and too far to ever find. A strange glow from the above had her looking towards the sky and at first she didn’t see anything, until she realized the glowing was coming from her own head. The full moon was making her white hair look as if it were glowing. She shook it off, thinking that it must just be exhaustion making her see things. She had been out on full moon nights plenty of times before and never had this happen before. Yeah, she was tired that was all.

—-

Across the forbidden forest another set of eyes also noticed the glowing under the full moon….

“What is it brother? It’s very late, come to sleep.” She joined her brother on the edge of the cliff he stood upon, staring at the glow from across the forest.

“See the glowing.” He said pointing. It was faint, but there none the less.

“Yes, I do, but what is it’s importance to us?”

“The prophecy, its time.”


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks had passed since Addison had gone to Zeds room and she had gone every night since. She would slip out of her room after Lacey went to sleep and would stay in Zeds bed until morning. Then she would lie and say that she woke early to go and do some morning chores. 

They didn’t have sex every night. Sometimes they simply lay awake and talked and some nights they would just fall asleep in each other’s arms. No one questioned her, but she was sure that the Aceys were at least suspicious.

This particular day Addison found herself wandering down the halls. Zoey had lessons and the royal family wasn’t really that messy. She had come to realize that her job was a little more slow and boring than she thought it would be. If it weren’t for her nightly visits with Zed, she would be going insane with boredom. Her mind went over a check list of some of the things she could occupy herself with when hands shot out of a darkened room, pulling her inside. Zed had taken a liking to jumping her whenever he thought he had the opportunity.

“Mmm,” he growled into her ear as his hands roamed her body. “I have been thinking about you all morning.” His lips assaulted her neck and she could feel him growing hard as he rubbed himself against her.

“Oh really?” She cooed, running her own hands down his front and grasping his hard member. 

“Ah easy..” he groaned, pulling back a little, “I just came to say goodbye.” 

Addison removed her hands and backed away from him. “Oh, where am I going?” She knew it was only a matter of time before their sneaking was found out and she was transferred out of the castle. 

“I just have to go away for a couple of days.” He reassured her. “Trust me, you will not be going anywhere anytime soon.” He pulled her close and leaned in, taking her lips with his own. “I’ll miss you but alas, Kingly duties call.” Addison giggled and they kissed one last time before Zed left to go on his trip. 

Now Addison had to completely rethink her next couple of days and her first thought was to go and visit Bree, the sweet girl she met on her way to the castle. She knew Bree worked in the kitchen and figured that would be her best place to see her. 

Using the tunnels she made her way to Central and reading the signs posted found her way to the kitchens. It wasn't too far from the main tunnel that she needed to make her way around the royal family’s wing. 

When she emerged from the exit door, she was greeted with a bustle and flurry of movement. People were going every which way with trays and carts in a coordinated way that suggested they had been doing this for a long time. It almost seemed as if they were dancing around each other at a ball. 

She tried to ask a few of the slower passers by, but they weren’t much help. They took one look at her in her pink royal maids uniform and turned their noses up. Was this jealousy? She hadn’t chosen her position any more than they had. 

The smells of baking bread and roasting meats wafted past her and she followed the scent to the set of double doors. A servant emerged, pushing the doors open with her side, as her hands were holding a tray full of little meat pies. Bree must be working right behind these doors. Addison remembered her saying her parents owned a meat pie shop in her district.

Addison second guessed coming to visit Bree. She was probably too busy to stop and chat. The royal workers seemed to be the only people in the castle with down time. Maybe that was why she was looked down upon by the other workers. She was turning to leave when someone shouted at her. “You there, stop!” She turned to see an older, tanned skinned woman, who was a little pudgy around the middle walking towards her. 

“What are you doing standing around? Go and grab a tray. Lord Bonzo has ordered a set of meat pies and he doesn’t like to wait.” The woman grabbed Addison’s arm and drug her quickly through the double doors. She tried to interject that it was her off day, and she wasn’t sent for the meat pies, but the woman was pulling her so quickly behind her while yelling instruction to people as she passed, that she didn’t have the chance.

If she thought that the central hallways were busy, it was nothing compared to the bustling of the kitchen. Long prep tables were set up for preparing everything possible, with men and women young and old doing something. Some were kneading dough, some were chopping vegetables and others were adding ingredients to pots and pans. Addison was suddenly very happy for her station within the castle. She wasn’t used to this much activity all in one place. The tavern that she worked in before got busy most nights, but was nowhere this big or busy. 

The older woman grabbed a tray and shoved it into Addison’s hands and then pushed her in the direction of the cooking meat pies. “Go on then. Half a dozen to Lord Bonzo.” And then the woman was off and yelling orders at someone else.

Addison gripped the tray to her chest and hesitantly made her way to where the smells of the pies were coming from. It smelled of lamb and roasted onions and carrots and Addison’s stomach rumbled at the thought of the delicious juices that popped out when you took a bite into one. She spotted Bree at the end of a table, spreading melting butter onto freshly made pies, ready for the oven. 

Bree’s face lit up when Addison approached the table. “Addison!” She squealed, dropping her basting brush on the ground and rushing to embrace her friend. “I was hoping you would come and visit me since you know I can’t go and visit you. Only the people in pink are allowed behind those royal doors. Ugh, don’t you just hate this drab green affair they have us in the kitchen wearing. I guess it’s better than the tan colors the gardeners are wearing.” She seemed to have said all of this in one breath the entire time she squeezed Addison in a hug.

Addison let out a small laugh, “Yes, it’s nice to see you too.” Bree let go and went back to her task of brushing the pies, with a new brush of course. “I actually came to see how you were doing and somehow I got roped into bringing Lord Bonzo some meat pies.

Bree tsked her tongue. “I swear that man orders more meat pies than anyone else in this castle. I have to keep them fresh and ready for him all day. My goodness can he eat. These are about finished and then its 15 minutes in the oven; he will have to wait if he wants them fresh.” Bree popped a dozen into the oven and got to work spreading out dough to fill with more meat and vegetables. “I’m told he never used to order them as much. Suddenly he started ordering them more and more the past few weeks.”

“I won’t get you trouble for standing here and waiting will I? I wouldn’t want you to get let go because of me.”

“Girl please, do you know how often that other royal worker Jacey is in here? He is always chatting up Jessica who is in soups. I swear it’s every day.”

“Oh, ok then, well… how do you like it here?”

“Oh my gosh, it’s the best. They had me on the prep table cutting the onions and on my second day I made a recommendation about the seasonings they were putting in the meat pies and they put over here to help with the making of them. Now we use my family’s recipe and the meat pies are getting ordered from the zombie citizens left and right.”

“That’s great Bree. Have you been able to write to your parents yet and let them know? They must be so proud.”

“That’s the best part. They put a sign in their window that said they are now serving the same pies as the castle and they are getting more customers than ever before. They had to hire three people to keep up with the demand. Apparently people like to eat like The King.” 

Addison really was happy for her family. They had probably struggled before and with Bree leaving it must have left them in a bind. It made her think of her own family and how they were fairing. “What is it like being a royal worker? What is The King like? Oh I bet he’s as dreamy as they say.” Addison blushed and thank goodness that Bree was looking down at her pies while she talked and couldn’t see the scarlet color passing over her face.

“It’s better than I thought it would be. The family is very quiet; they usually keep to themselves, except for Zoey. She’s all over the place but she’s really sweet. She thinks I'm a big sister to her.” Addison smiled in genuine fondness.

The meat pies came out of the oven and Bree plated them up for Addison to take back to Lord Bonzo. Just then the same lady that forced Addison into taking the meat pies hurried by barking orders, “Bree, you’re break.”

“Hey, why don’t you come back with me to deliver these pies? It’s actually my day off so we can sit and talk after. I can show you around the royal wing.” She suggested.

Bree looked a little hesitant. “Are you sure? Is that allowed? We have strict rules to not step foot behind those doors unless we’re invited.”

“Well I’m inviting you.” Addison gripped the tray in one hand and Brees wrist in the other and pulled her towards the doors. Once they were safely on the other side of the double doors and there was a lot less traffic Addison added in a sly whisper, “Besides, I kind of have an in with The King.”

Brees' face looked like it was about to combust with questions, but they both knew better than to say anything more about it in front of others.These walls had ears or at least that’s what Lacey had said once. As soon as they were out of the central hallways and out of earshot of others, Bree busted out with her onslaught of questions. “What are you not telling me? What kind of ‘in’ do you have exactly.” She wiggled her eyebrows for effect.

Once again Addison's face burned red and that must have given everything away. “Oh my god! You’re sleeping with The King.” Bree exploded. Addison whipped around to shush her so quickly she almost dropped every meat pie off the tray she was still carrying.

“Shhhhh Bree!” Addison hurriedly whispered, looking up and down the empty hallway for anyone lingering around. “You can’t just say things like that. We could both get kicked out in a heartbeat.” She continued walking down the hallway towards the servant entrance into the royal wing. Bree was thankfully quiet after this but Addison could tell it wasn’t going to last long. “I promise to tell you everything after we deliver these ok?” She didn’t really mean it as a question, just something to appease Bree for now.

When they emerged from the tunnel like corridors, Bree was awestruck by the grandness of the royal wing. She followed along to an area Addison wasn’t too familiar with. Lord Bonzo and Lady Eliza didn’t like to rely on the royal helpers to get ready in the morning and they rarely made messes that required the workers to go and clean their rooms. She never had a reason to come into this area before. 

Addison approached Lord Bonzo’s door and knocked quietly. They only waited for a few seconds before the large door swung open and his tall frame came into view. “Finally, I’ve been waiting all morning.” He grabbed the tray out of Addison's hands and proceeded to eat one of the meat pies in three bites.

Bree smiled at his enthusiasm and Addison rolled her eyes, having gotten used to Bonzos eating habits. “My compliments to the chef.” 

“Thank you.” Bree giggled and startled Bonzo from his eating. He tilted his head to study her and slowly nodded. “Oh hi there, you’re the chef I take it.”

“Ah…sort of...I mean..” She stumbled over her words. Addison sensing her sudden nervousness spoke up for her.

“Yes, this is Bree and she is the chef. I watched her make these meat pies myself from start to finish. It’s her family’s secret recipe.” She mock whispered the last part to him. Bonzo smiled down at Bree, a certain look of fondness on his features.

“Well these are the best pies in all of the Kingdom of Necropolis.” He took a bite out of another pie and smiled with his mouth closed and full of food. Bree couldn’t speak; it was her turn to blush.

“It was nice to see you Lord Bonzo but we must be going.” Addison took Bree by the shoulders and went to steer her away. “It was nice to meet you.” Bonzo hollered at their retreating backs.

Once again when they were out of earshot of anyone, Bree exploded. “Oh my goodness he is so dreamy and he thinks my food is the best in the entire kingdom. I just don’t know what to do with all this information.”

“That’s great to hear Bree.” Addison was happy for her friend. Being cousins with the King gave Bonzo a lot of choice over some of the castle decisions. Addison knew that Zed relied on his family to help with some of the duties. Lord Bonzo might speak highly of Bree and that could mean a higher position in the kitchen for her with more pay. But Addison wouldn’t say anything to her just yet. No use in talking of what might or might not happen.

“Let me show you the sitting room. It will be empty this time of day for anyone. Zed…I mean, King Zed.. is away and Princess Zoey has lessons. Lady Eliza is hardly ever in there and I'm pretty sure Sir Zevon is out with the King as well.”

Addison went through showing her the common rooms she thought would be empty at this time of day, the sitting room, the library, the dining room and other similar rooms, showing her everything except for personal bed chambers. Bree’s break was going to come to an end soon and they decided to lounge nearest the windows in the sitting room that looked out at the gardens before she had to go back.

“I have been holding myself back this whole time. Tell me about the King!” Addison sighed when Bree said this. She knew she had to tell her something since she sort of figured it out anyway but could she trust Bree? They had become fast friends but that didn’t mean anything in this time of setting but then again, no one else seemed to even care although they had their suspicions. 

The only other person she ever had to confide in before was Chad. She spun the tiny silver ring she still wore on her finger, too sentimental to take it off. She supposed that there would be no harm, Bree really seemed like a genuinely nice person and wore her expressions and words right out on her sleeves. 

Addison went through the story of her time as a royal worker, starting at the beginning and going through the time in the library and the time in the garden. She went through the whole dinner with his family and ended with the night in his chambers. 

“So, yeah..I’m sleeping with the king.” She waited for Brees' reaction, which was sure to be over the top. 

“Well obviously you have to keep seeing him, I mean it's The King.” She said to Addison.

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up though. He hasn’t been The King for very long and he’s sure to be married soon. He didn't say where he was going but I had a suspicion it was to another kingdom. I’m thinking of breaking it off.” Addison shared her thoughts.

“That’s true.” Bree agreed, which didn't make Addison feel any better. “But if I were you, I would ride that zombie train for as long as I could.” Addison laughed at her double meaning. She looked down to her hand where she wore the metal ring she couldn’t seem to take off. Maybe there was always some piece of Chad that she kept holding onto and maybe that was why she couldn't fully enjoy her time with Zed. 

Bree’s break was over and Addison escorted her back to the kitchens, promising to visit more. Bree said that she wouldn't mind delivering more food to Lord Bonzo, he was nice and cute. 

Addison walked back to the royal wing alone. Zoey was probably finished up with her lessons and would want to go for a walk and then it would be time to serve dinner. She continued to spin the ring on her finger the entire way back to her room. Lacy was thankfully out and Addison sat on her bed to think over her situation.

Bree was right, she would never see Chad again and she would most likely never even get married. There was no point holding onto old things and she should enjoy her time with Zed. She removed the ring and put it in a tiny box she found and placed it in the back of her wardrobe, vowing not to think of Chad and only focus on Zed from now on.

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My whole life is a booger bubble. -Andy Bernard, The Office
> 
> That’s my excuse for taking so long.

Zed returned from his trip and brought news that some guests would be arriving in several days’ time. He didn’t say who, just that the castle needed to be on alert until then. The entire estate had ramped up for the arrival by preparing the guest rooms, which were near the royal family suite, and stocking the kitchens with large quantities of meats and veggies. The mostly unused ball room was being cleaned which sparked a rumor that the guests were also of royal blood. The Acys were going crazy with gossip amongst themselves as well.

“He found someone to marry, I just know it.”

“Well we all knew it had to happen eventually.”

“I wonder if she’s a human or a zombie.”

“I would feel bad for her if she were human.”

“How do you know it’s a her, it could be a him?”

“Ohhhhhh,” their voices all sort of worked in unison and when they talked Addison had a hard time telling who said what unless she was looking directly at them. Could what they were saying be true? Could he have found someone already? He had mentioned before that he wasn’t really looking, that he didn’t really care but the thought was there in her mind none the less.

“Addison!” She was called out of her thoughts. They had just finished eating dinner together and were sitting in the common room they shared in their servant’s quarters. “What do you think?”

What did she think? It was a simple question to them but very loaded to her. They didn’t know that before he left for his trip she was sneaking into the Kings room and bed every night. They had teased her when he invited her to dinner but let it go after some other incident happened in the castle and gave them something new to talk about.

“I don’t think that he brought someone home with him.” she answered honestly. “Princess Zoey would have known about it and she would have told me.” This wasn’t a lie. The Princess did seem to know about everything. The royal family was very close and consulted one another on just about every matter. Zoey would have told Addison if Zed was getting married or not. 

“I did hear that Lord Bonzo has been seeing someone from the kitchen though.” Also not a lie, he was ‘seeing’ Bree bring him meat pies every day. They didn’t need to know the context of how he was seeing her, she just needed to get them blabbering about something else and it worked. They quickly dropped the topic of the King and settled on who Lord Bonzo could be seeing in the kitchen and how far they have gotten. 

Addison hadn’t gone to see Zed since he arrived home. She slept in her own bed, listening to Lacy snore like a log. She had only caught a glimpse of him one time. She was walking down a hallway next Zoey and he had crossed in front of her down a different hall. She wasn’t even sure he had seen her. He was walking very quickly with Lord Bonzo on one side and his father on the other. Both were talking very animatedly at him as he just nodded along.

Now it was the day before the guests were set to arrive and new word was spreading. More staff had been hired for the kitchens and cleaning crews and Addison thought she heard that more guards were being brought on. The castle had humans as guards, she had seen them marching about on the edges of the castle doing whatever it was that the guards did. She never really cared to learn. The kingdom had never been threatened since the zombies took over and she figured it was all for show. Perhaps the guests were of greater importance than she thought. 

She stood with Zoey in her chambers, helping her to try on every dress that she had in her possession. Apparently there would be a ball the next night with dancing and food and the guests will be honored there.

“I’ve worn all of these dresses so many times and I'm just sick of them.” Zoey was pouting.

“Would you like me to call the seamstress to come and see what she can do with any of these? I'm sure she doesn’t have time for a whole new dress but maybe she has time to change one up a bit with some beading or in the length.” Addison offered.

“Your right,” the Princess agreed. She plucked one of the black dresses out of the discarded piles and handed it to Addison. “Go and see if she can take a little off the bottom and add some silver bows on it somewhere.” Addison slung the dress over her arm and left to go and see the seamstress.

Henrietta was an older lady who was tall and thin. She gave off an appearance of being hard and severe but any time Addison came to bring her something she was nothing but nice and perhaps a little forgetful. She wasn’t the only seamstress in the castle. She was over a large group of workers that could rival the kitchens. They made all of the uniforms worn by every worker in the castle, including the guards.

Henrietta was over these other workers but she herself was put on reserve strictly for the royal family’s needs. “Ah Addy dear, you’re here for your fitting.” Confusion crossed Addison's face as she brought Zoey’s dress to a rack to be worked on.

“Fitting? No, I'm here to drop this dress off for the Princess. She wants the length shortened and she was thinking some silver bows would be a nice change for it.” She said hanging the dress on the rack. She turned back to see Henrietta was staring at her over the top of her glasses she wore, the same look of confusion on her face as well.

“No dear.” She simply said.

Addison was even more confused now. “No to Princess Zoey's dress or…”

“No, well… yes to that but no to your no.” Henrietta had to be losing it even more than she had already.

“Ok, I have no idea what you’re talking about but I only came to bring this dress for some alterations; bows and length shortening.”

“Yes.” Henrietta spoke. Finally they were on the same page until she continued on. “But you’re here and so you shall have your fitting as well as the dress being altered.”

“I didn’t order a dress.” Addison insisted.

“Well someone ordered one for you.” Henrietta turned to find a slip of paper with requests written on it and read: “Mid Length, A line, strapless, in color ivory, bodice beading, buttons on back for one Addison Davis with your measurements.” She stopped reading and looked back over the top of her glasses. “Is that not your name.”

“Well.. yes it is but..” she stammered.

“No buts, here it is.” Henrietta pulled the very dress she had just described off of a different rack and held it up. “I was also told you would be by today for a fitting although I'm never wrong when given sizes.”

If Addison was confused before she was even more so now. Who would have such an elaborate dress made for her and who would know her measurements?

“Come now dear, I don’t have all day. I’ve got some other projects going on and not to mention the Princesses dress you’ve just brought in.” She pushed Addison into a corner of the room with a curtain meant for privacy and started to help Addison with putting the newly sewn dress on.

It fit like a glove, a fact that Henrietta would not stop talking about. “I'm never wrong when given measurements. Why I made a dress for the Queen when she was with child simply by looking at her. I didn’t even need to measure the belly.” 

Addison smoothed her hands over the soft fabric and admired the work. It was beautiful but she couldn’t help but think it resembled her only good dress she owned back before she came to work in the castle. Flashes of memories danced in her mind, of Chad, of the almost marriage she would have had. She often wondered if the certificate office had been open that day, what would her life be like?

“You don’t know who ordered this dress for me?” She asked. Henrietta’s eye had a twinkle to it but she acted as if she came in to find the order waiting for her and didn’t know the handwriting. She was sent back with the dress and questions in her mind. Where would she even wear it? Zed had been bringing her to dinner with him before but this dress was too nice for that. Usually she wore one of Zoeys old dresses or her maid’s uniform if she was dining with him alone. She usually didn’t wear it for much longer after they ate anyway. 

She was relieved to see that Zoey had picked up most of the mess she had made with her dresses and she tried to sneak the new dress past her but of course Zoey saw. “Oh my goodness. This is beautiful. Who did you pick this up for? It couldn’t be for Eliza. She hates this color.”

Why did everyone in her life have to talk a mile a minute when they spoke to her? Zoey, Bree, the Acys..it was exhausting.

“Oh, no actually it was made for me.” She said laying it out on one of the chairs. Zoey’s eyes lit up as she took in all of the details of the fabric.

“Well whoever made it for you must really like you.” She said in a teasing voice. 

“Just tell me who and why. I have no reason to have a dress this nice.”

“It’s not for me to say.” She continued to tease.

“It was Zed wasn’t it?” It had to be, who else would order it for her if it wasn't Zoey.

Zoey’s face turned red as she desperately tried to hold in the secrets she kept. “Zo, why would he make this dress for me?” Addison asked. Zoey closed her eyes and smooshed her lips together, desperate to hold in the secrets. “Come on and tell me now or I'm just going to go and interrupt him in the middle of whatever he’s doing and we both know I could get into trouble if I do that and then who would you have to care for you?” She wouldn’t really put her position in jeopardy by interrupting whatever king meetings he had going on but Zoey didn’t need to know that. She was bluffing to get Zo to tell her.

“Fine.” She finally cracked. “He had it made so that you could attend the ball with him tomorrow as his date. He was going to announce to the castle about it so that you didn’t have to hide your love.”

Addison’s mind exploded with more questions. Was he going to tell her about this? Was she ready for the kingdom to know about them being together. What did this mean about their relationship and how he viewed it? As far as she knew this wasn’t that serious and love….that was a big word. She wouldn’t say she loved him. They hadn’t even known each other for very long and certainly never talked about love before. Zoey was continuing to talk in the background but Addison didn’t hear a word. She left.

She left Zoey's room and she left the dress on the chair but she couldn’t leave all the questions floating in her mind. She needed to think. She needed answers. She ran straight out of the castle and into the gardens; as far as she could go without actually leaving the grounds and getting into trouble.

No one was around and she felt the need to let out a frustrated growl which quickly turned into a scream. Why wouldn’t Zed tell her about the ball and announcing to everyone they had been seeing each other? Shouldn’t that be her choice too. It’s really not like she could ask him. He was in meetings all day in regards to their guests they had coming. Guests that she had no idea where they came from or who they were.

She growled once more and shook one of the bushes she standing next to causing leaves and little flowers to sprinkle the ground. A loud whistling sound startled her and she turned clutching her chest, startled. 

“That shrub must have done something really awful to get that sort of treatment.” A man she had never seen before stood behind her. He was tall but not as tall as Zed. He had brown hair with a white strip in the front and dark brown eyes, but he didn’t wear a castle uniform so he wasn’t a worker and he also didn’t have green hair so he couldn’t have been a zombie.

“Excuse me?” Addison asked.

“Well I heard some growling and thought someone was in distress. Glad to see it was just some bushes and not a human.” He said smiling. Addison noticed his canine teeth seemed to be larger than usual. “What interesting white hair you have.” He added at the end.

“Yeah… I get that a lot. What interesting teeth you have.” She decided to throw back at him. She was hoping a sour attitude would make him walk away.

“Thank you…I get that a lot.” He smiled even wider. Something was wrong with this guy.

“Look I’m sorry my growling worried you, but everything is fine over here. I’m just letting off a little steam so you can move along now.” She went back to pluck a few more leaves off of the bush but stopped when she felt his presence was still there. She turned to see him standing a little closer with his head titled staring at her. Like a curious dog she thought.

“The color of your uniform suggests you work with the royal family.” He said. “Is that why you smell of him?”

“Smell of him?” she repeated confused. “I smell just fine thank you. Who are you by the way?”

“My apologies, I haven't introduced myself. Wyatt Lykenson.” He held his hand out for her to shake. She took his hand in hers, noticing the length of his nails immediately and looked down to see he was also hairier than normal for a person. He pulled her in closer, shoving his nose into her hair and inhaled a deep breath.

“You smell of warm sugar and perhaps a little of dirt. It was a pleasure to meet you.” He rumbled softly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “I really do hope we meet again soon.” He released her hand and walked away, leaving Addison with chill bumps and now even more questions than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for long wait. It’s shorter than I wanted but this was the best place to end it. Also I hope this chapter made sense bc I wrote half of it a long time ago and the rest of it like over the last couple of days.


End file.
